When Renald Cote 2007 Inc., (also known as RCI) ceased operations, the company faced a challenge – how to sell their large fleet of heavy construction equipment from a remote location.
With roots going back four decades, RCI was taken over by Mr. Marc Riverin in 2008, and became a family business, expanding over the years to 269 employees with a business revenue of $250 million in the years 2012-2018. The company grew to become one of the largest contractors on the north coast, working mainly for mines in northern Quebec, and evolved from its original focus on excavation for the mining industry to other mining and construction work, road and rail work, environmental projects, snow removal, dyke construction, and a variety of civil engineering services. One of RCI’s more recent projects involved construction support for a remote iron ore mining development outside of Fermont, Quebec, Canada – approximately 1,200km (700+ miles) north of Montreal.
Big equipment, remote location, big challenges
After Mr. Riverin passed away, the family did not want to continue with RCI’s operation, and decided to sell its 3,000+ surplus assets, including rock trucks, large excavators, dozers, wheel loaders and more. But they faced a big challenge: ship the equipment out at a high cost in order to sell it, or try to sell it from the remote location – but how would they attract buyers?
Mr. Riverin had been a loyal and long-time Ritchie Bros.’ customer, so the family turned to Ritchie Bros. to help them dispose of the company’s assets. With a long history, years of experience, and the proven track record of helping clients market and sell equipment from remote locations and temporary sites, Ritchie Bros. could also help RCI save on shipping costs by selling the equipment from where it sat.
And Ritchie Bros. had the planning, logistics, technology, and marketing capabilities to not only sell the assets, but reach a global buyer audience. They had achieved great success for other sellers selling from locations like Happy Valley-Goose Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador; Sept-Iles, Quebec; and many other remote mine sites, construction sites, forestry camps and other locations.
How Ritchie Bros. tackled the dispersal
After assessing RCI’s situation, needs and goals, Ritchie Bros. put together a disposition plan and decided the best solution to sell was their online Timed Auction platform, an automated system with no auctioneer. It provided the advantage to both the seller and buyers of selling online via detailed photographs, and with bidding open for several days, bidders have more opportunity to bid from anywhere, and RCI would benefit from more bids and increased competition.
Ritchie Bros.’ dispatched an operations team to RCI’s site in Fermont, including experienced equipment inspectors, to set up and inspect the assets, gather detailed information on each unit, and take dozens of photos of each machine. The inspectors also produced comprehensive IronClad Assurance equipment condition certification reports, which give buyers confidence knowing what they see in the report online is what they get when they receive their purchased equipment.
Global marketing campaigns drive demand
Once the initial set up and inspection steps were completed, Ritchie Bros.’ marketing kicked into high gear, leveraging their global multichannel marketing campaigns and unmatched ability to drive buyer demand. Assets were marketed online across Ritchie Bros.’ multiple websites, as well as via dedicated email marketing, targeted social media advertising, and other marketing channels targeting potential buyers in a variety of industries around the world. Prior to the auction, the marketing campaign generated 30,960 website pageviews and 10,880 watchlist additions for RCI’s assets.
Said Christine Riverin, “When we needed to sell our surplus assets from our remote site in Fermont, QC, having Ritchie Bros. as our seller partner made the process easy. From saving on transportation costs, advice from our sales partners, inspectors, and using timed format opens bidding up to a global market with ease.”
Execution and results
Ritchie Bros. conducted unreserved online Timed Auctions in June and July 2023, which attracted 7,200+ registered bidders, and 3,000+ assets were sold generating CA$37 million. Buyers participated from across Canada as well as several U.S. states, and as far away as France, Mexico, and Peru. This dispersal leveraged every aspect of Ritchie Bros.’ full range of service offerings, including their global multichannel marketing campaigns and unmatched ability to drive buyer demand. The company’s reach, marketing capabilities, and ability to coordinate the sale of 3,000+ assets in a relatively short time took pressure off the seller, made the process easy for them, and maximized their returns.
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